by Sandra Ross
Without being aware of it, she clung to Hunter while her vision started to turn into a replay of what had happened to Sara on the day she died. While she stared straight ahead, Eve watched as Sara entered her house carrying a package wrapped in black paper with a silver ribbon tied around it. Eve saw quickly that Sara was unsettled, almost frightened, as she carefully set the package on the bar in the kitchen and simply stared at it.
In slow motion, Eve watched in horror as Sara slowly opened her package. She wanted to scream at her not to open it but knew it would do no good. What Eve was seeing had already happened and there was no saving Sara now. All Eve could do was continue to watch as this drama unfolded before her eyes and then report what she had seen.
And she saw it all.
Eve saw Sara open the box and then put her hand inside of the box, pushing around the black tissue paper in search of whatever the box contained. She watched as Sara withdrew her hand from the box screaming as she did so. Eve saw the spider that had attached itself to Sara's wrist and helplessly watched as Sara spun around and around, still screaming. This terrifying event seemed to go on forever until it ended with Sara sliding down the wall and half sitting on the floor.
As Eve came back to herself, her wide eyes stared unseeingly at Hunter, who still had his arms around her. A sharp pain stabbed through her head and the last thing she saw was blackness.
When she came back to, she was lying on a chaise lounge on Sara's deck. Hunter was speaking softly but urgently to her.
"Evie, wake up baby," he said. "Come back to me, Evie."
She tried to open her eyes, but it was too bright for her to tolerate at first. However, she did manage to wave her hand weakly to show that she was now conscious.
"Oh, thank God," Hunter breathed. "You know, I really wish there was an easier way for you to do this. It scares the hell out of me every time this happens. Tell me what I can do to help you."
"Nothing," Eve whispered. "Just let me lie here for a couple of minutes and then help me to the car. This will pass."
"I don't want to seem insensitive, Evie, but the Forensics team will be here shortly. It doesn't seem to be the best idea for them to find us here, do you think?"
"No, of course not," Eve said as she struggled to sit up. "Let me just do this slowly. Then you can help me to the car."
Within about five minutes, Eve was strong enough to stand. Leaning on Hunter, they made their way back to the car. They hoped that no one saw them coming or going, but little could be done about it all now. Chad was going to be furious when she told him what they had done, but she did have some new information for him.
Hunter helped Eve get into the car and then he went around to take the driver's side. It went without saying that she wasn't in any condition to safely handle a car right now.
"Why I don't take you home so you can rest for a little while?" Hunter suggested.
"No, really, I'll be fine. I probably need something to eat and that will boost my energy level. Besides, I want to check on Skylar. Did you hear from her?"
"Nope, not a word. Do you think that's bad?"
"Who knows? But she did seem to be pretty computer savvy and starting her off with moving the files into the computer wasn't all that challenging. Still, I want to see how she's doing."
As they headed to the office, Eve took the opportunity to tell Hunter what she had seen in her vision. By the time she had finished talking, he looked slightly pale but also very angry. He parked the car in front of the office and turned off the engine.
"That's just too horrible for words," he said. "No wonder you passed out! I would love to get my hands on the person responsible for this. Sara was a good person and she certainly didn't deserve such a terrifying death."
"I know," Eve agreed. "That's why we've got to do all we can to find out what really happened and why Sara was targeted. Of course, it's totally possible that she was just being stalked by some lunatic because that does happen more than I'd like to think. But that doesn't feel like what it was all about, if that makes sense."
"Yeah, it does make sense. But we're going to figure this out, Evie. No one should get away with that kind of evil."
Reaching over to Hunter, Eve pulled him to her across the seat for a hug.
"You've got such a good heart, Hunter," she smiled. "And I love you."
He embraced her back and gave her a quick kiss.
"It's so nice to be appreciated," he said.
"Consider yourself appreciated," Eve replied. "I'll show you just how much later."
"So you keep saying..."
Playfully punching him, Eve laughed.
"Is that all you ever think about?" she teased.
"Not all, but it occupies a lot of my time lately," Hunter replied.
"Come on," Eve said. "Let's go check on our new office manager."
When they walked into the reception area of the office, they stopped in amazement. The entire room had been rearranged. The thing was that the way it now appeared worked so much better than the way it had been. Skylar was sitting at her desk diligently typing at the computer. They were still standing there simply staring when Skylar glanced up and saw them. She removed her headphones and grinned.
"So what do you think?" she asked eagerly.
"I... I think it looks amazing," Eve finally managed to say. "What about you, Hunter? Don't you think it's amazing?"
"Did you do all of this by yourself?" Hunter asked.
"Yep," Skylar said. "It wasn't hard. You just have to know how to use your body."
"I suppose...," Eve said. "It actually does look a lot better this way."
"I thought it would, too," Skylar said excitedly. "Let me show you what I did with your office!"
"You changed my office around, too?" Eve stuttered.
"Wait until you see it!" Skylar said as she hurried down the hall.
Eve and Hunter exchanged looks. Then they ventured slowly behind Skylar. She stood in the doorway looking very pleased with herself as she presented the grand changes in the room. Peering cautiously into the room, both Eve and Hunter's eyes widened.
The office really did look great. Eve was actually rather astounded to see what a difference it made with things moved around the way Skylar had somehow managed to arrange them.
"Wow," she said. "That's about the only word I can find at the moment, Skylar. How on earth did you do all of this? I mean, seriously. Did you call some of your friends or something?"
"Nope. I did it all myself. I meant it when I said that you just have to know how to balance things with your body weight. It wasn't so hard."
"I find that difficult to believe," Eve said, laughing. "But I won't ask any more questions."
"Oh, and I finished putting in all of those files you needed. Also, I set up a message program for you on the computer. It's something that will work while the office is closed and it can be set up to forward calls to your voice mail so that you can decide whether or not it's important enough to call back right away."
"Just how long were we gone?" Hunter asked.
"Yeah," Eve said. "I don't know how you managed to get all of that stuff done in such a short time."
"I told you," Skylar said. "I'm very organized."
Hunter and Eve laughed as they shook their heads. Skylar explained the new computer message system to them and then showed them how to access the files she had input. Eve knew that she was going to rub Hunter's face in this later since he had been a bit skeptical about hiring her.
"Well," Evie said, with a rather bemused expression on her face, "I'm very impressed with your organizational skills, not to mention your furniture moving ability, although I'm still not sure I believe you did all by yourself."
She added a little laugh onto the end of that one because she didn't want to make Skylar think she was being called a liar, especially since everything looked so much better. Not only that, she had done all of the data entry plus setting up a computer message system. Where did this girl come from
?
"I think that Skylar has earned a well-deserved lunch break," Hunter said. "You're probably starved after all that work especially since it's nearly 2:00."
"Actually, I do kind of need to run a couple of errands if you're sure it's okay."
"It's fine," Evie and Hunter both said at the same time. "Take your time. We plan to be here for a while."
"Sweet!" Skylar said as she grabbed her bag. "I'll be back."
As she flew out of the door, Eve certainly hoped she would be back. This girl was a miracle worker! There would be time to ponder that later, though. Right now, she needed to call Chad. She was pretty sure he would want to know what she had witnessed as soon as possible.
Chapter Seven
IT WAS ANOTHER hour before Chad was able to get to The Agency.
Now, they were sitting in Eve's newly arranged office where she was trying her very best to explain to him what she had seen. He was pretty upset that she and Hunter had gone back to Sara's house, even after he had expressly told them to wait. In fact, they couldn't seem to get him off of that subject long enough to tell him what Eve had seen in her vision.
"You know, Eve, I would expect this shit out of you," Chad fairly shouted. "But Hunter, I'm baffled and, quite frankly, stunned that you would go along with something like this. "
"Hold on, Chad," Hunter said. "If you're going to keep yelling like that, we're not going to get anywhere. Aren't you the least bit curious about what Evie saw?"
"Of course I am. I just don't know how in the hell I'm supposed to explain this to my boss. He's not a huge believer in things that he can't see. Not only that, but the two of you could have been hurt by going back there alone. We still don't know who did this to Sara or why. The murderer is still around and could be anyone."
"Chad, come on," Eve tried to placate him. "You've known me for years, right? Don't you feel that you can trust me once in a while?"
"It's not a matter of trust, Evie. I specifically told you not to go back to Sara's house without me and you just totally ignored me. That's what pisses me off. You have no regard for authority whatsoever. I could arrest you, you know."
"Look, Chad, we can sit here and argue about my methods or I can tell you what I saw while we were there. It's up to you, but the longer we go around in circles the longer it's going to take you to act on what I have to say."
Chad sighed heavily before indicating that she should start talking.
After she had relayed the details of her vision to him, Chad seemed to have forgotten how upset he had been with Eve just a few minutes earlier. Now he was excited that they had some information to work with.
"Okay, so what you're saying is that this spider most likely arrived in a gift wrapped box?" Chad asked.
"That's what I saw, yes," Eve replied. "She brought it inside with her when she came in. But she was afraid of it, Chad. She put it on the bar in the kitchen and just stared at it for a long time before opening it. To me, she seemed to be reluctant to open the box."
"And you saw this through the killer's eyes?"
"That's right. And let me tell you, I've never seen such rage and hatred in my life. Whoever this is needs to be found as soon as possible."
Chad asked her a few more questions to clarify her vision but Eve hadn't been able to tell who it was or why Sara was so afraid of that box.
"Chad, I need to go back there," Eve said. "I'm pretty sure I'll get more once I'm inside the house. You see, where I was standing had to have been where the killer was. Whoever did this was watching Sara and knew what was going to happen. That's why I was seeing things through the killer's eyes. If I can go inside of the house, there's a good chance I'll see through Sara's eyes."
"Evie, that's not a good idea," Hunter said firmly. "That last episode was hard enough on you. It's not possible for you to go back there."
"Hunter, we talked about this. I did just fine before you came along and I know what I'm doing now. So stop trying to tell me what I'm going to do and not do. Are we clear?"
"Okay, Eve," Hunter barked as he rose from his chair. "Do whatever the hell you want. But I won't be a part of it. If you're going to kill yourself, you'll do it without my help!"
With that, he stalked out of the office. Chad and Eve both heard the front door to The Agency slam as he exited. They looked at each other ruefully.
"Is there any truth to what he's saying, Evie?" Chad asked. "Are these visions dangerous for you?"
"No, Chad. They're not dangerous, but they might look that way to someone watching. I do get skull crushing headaches during the visions and usually the pain causes me to pass out for a few minutes. But then I'm fine."
"Good God, Eve! You should have told me what these things do to you! I can't put you through that again! Damn, I'm so sorry."
"Chad, you didn't put me through anything. I did it on my own and Hunter is still getting used to seeing me have the visions. I know he means well, but he's got to learn that I can take care of myself. Now, don't worry about him. I'll handle Hunter. Just tell me when we can get back into Sara's house. I know I can get more to help you find her killer."
It took a little while longer, but Eve finally convinced Chad to let her have one more crack at Sara's house. She knew that he was torn because he didn't want to cause her any pain but, at the same time, he really wanted to catch this murderer. It was the latter part that she knew would get her inside the house. Finally, he agreed but he was adamant that she would give herself a full twenty-four hours to rest and recover from today's events. She had no choice but to agree.
After Chad left, she called Skylar and told her not to bother coming back to the office until the next morning. She was going home to try and figure out more from what her vision had shown her today. Besides, she hadn't wanted to admit to anyone how much that vision had taken out of her. The headache was still there, just behind her eyes, even though the pain was tolerable now. All she needed was a couple of painkillers and a nap. Then she would be fine.
She had forgotten that she had brought her car today until she had set the alarm and locked up the office. Therefore, she was both puzzled and grateful to find it still parked outside. It made her curious as to how Hunter had gone home. She couldn't really see him calling a cab and it was a bit of a walk back to her house.
Eve felt bad now for having snapped at Hunter in front of Chad. There was a lot for both of them to work on, especially herself. She would have to learn how to curb her temper more, and snapping at him in front of other people was just inexcusable. She put her car into gear and pulled away from the curb. Now, she was in a hurry to get home.
Chapter Eight
STEPHANIE ANDERSON'S FIRST gift arrived at 5PM that evening. Having just come home from work, she was in the midst of changing into more comfortable clothes when her doorbell rang. Quickly pulling on her t-shirt, she zipped her jeans and ran down the hall to the front door. Glancing through her peephole, she saw a young man standing on her porch with a huge bouquet of flowers. Puzzled, she opened the door.
"Hi there, are you Ms. Stephanie Anderson?" the young man asked.
"Yes, I am," she said still staring at the flowers.
"These are for you!" he said with a smile.
"Seriously?" she asked with pure skepticism in her voice.
"Yes, Ma'am," the man said as he handed her the bouquet. "There you go!"
Stephanie accepted the bouquet and realized that she probably needed to give the guy a tip. Setting it down on her foyer table, she turned back to him.
"Hang on a sec," she said reaching into her purse.
Handing him a $5 bill, she thanked him and slowly closed the door. Now who on earth could be sending her flowers. Not Ryan. They had broken up months ago and she had heard he was dating someone new. Ah, there's a card, she thought and reached over to open it.
Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman, Your Secret Admirer
Shaking her head and laughing a little, she put the card back in the envelope. Well, I don't m
ind playing a little game for a while, she thought. These really are gorgeous flowers. In fact, all of my favorites are in here. Roses, carnations, orchids. Damn, this was certainly not a cheap bouquet. Whoever her secret admirer was must have plenty of money.
Picking up the bouquet, she carried it into the living room and gave it a place of honor on the mantle.
A PAIR OF malevolent eyes shone from across the street as they watched Stephanie accept the bouquet. Part two of the game had begun.
I wonder just how long it will take Eve Snow to connect the dots, the Secret Admirer thought; a cruel smile forming. I've been waiting a long time for this and I plan to savor each moment of it.
Enjoy your flowers, Stephanie. You'll be hearing from me again soon. I promise.
Eve arrived home to an empty house. Hunter's car wasn't in the driveway and he didn't appear to be inside, either. She sighed. She had really hoped to be able to talk things over with him and apologize to him for how she had acted.
Climbing the stairs, she went into the master bathroom and retrieved a bottle of ibuprofen. She downed four of them with a glass of water and went back into the bedroom.
It was really strange how quickly she had become accustomed to Hunter being here with her all the time. Before he had returned to her life, she never noticed an empty house, let alone minded one. She enjoyed her privacy.
Now that Hunter had pretty much moved in with her, she found that she didn't like this feeling of being alone. She grabbed her laptop and propped some pillows behind her and settled on the bed. Looking up Sara's name, she found a few links to her but most of the information was around Sara's murder. Even those articles didn't carry a lot of information because the police hadn't released much. She knew more than these articles told.
In the end, Eve decided that this was a rather futile measure. Closing her laptop, she set aside and leaned her head back on the pillows. Her headache had started to subside now, but she was so tired. She let her eyes close. Maybe resting just a minute would help.....